| Hail to the King | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Avenged Sevenfold | ||||
| Released | August 23, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 at Can-Am Studios and Capitol Studios[1] | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal,[2][3] hard rock[3][4] | |||
| Length | 53:17 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Mike Elizondo | |||
| Avenged Sevenfold chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hail to the King | ||||
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Background
On November 15, 2012, vocalist M. Shadows said that the band has been working on a new album since the recording of "Carry On" in August 2012.[5] In December, the band said that it plans to begin recording material for their next album in January 2013, with release planned for later in the year.[6] In January 2013 the band started recording their new album. The band started streaming snippets of their new album in May 2013 on their new radio app.[7] It was on the app that Arin Ilejay was confirmed as an official band member and replacement of deceased drummer and founding member The Rev. In an interview with Metal Hammer about the new album, M. Shadows said that the album would sound more blues rock-influenced and more like classic rock and classic metal in the vein of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.[8]The band released four teasers on YouTube showing the band going through the recording process as well as providing snippets of songs off the album. On June 26, 2013, the band revealed the title, cover art and release date of album.[9][10][11] In July, the band revealed the complete track list of the album.[12]
On August 8, 2013, "Shepherd of Fire" was revealed to be the theme song of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies map "Origins", included in its final downloadable content pack titled Apocalypse.[13]
Musical style
Synyster Gates stated of the album: "I think our songwriting has improved by leaps and bounds. Sonically, this record is our biggest record by fucking far. When you turn this fucking thing on, it blasts your fucking head off."[14] M. Shadows stated about the album's music: "On this record, we want a very bare bones, riff-oriented approach. Because it's really easy for us to say 'That melody would sound great here, throw this background vocal here, here's this harmony.' We had to restrain ourselves from doing that just to keep it more badass and just more straightforward rock."[15]Zacky Vengeance stated: "We styled everything back and went to the core of heavy metal instead of trying to overcomplicate it. We wrote and wrote, and felt we really achieved what we were going for ... we're really proud of what we've come up with." [16] Johnny Christ stated about the album's musical style in an interview with bravewords: "It's definitely us. It's just the next progression. It's probably the heaviest record that we've put out - in its own right. It's been a great response for the single (Hail to the King) so far, which I feel is a good way to see what the rest of the record is going to sound like. There will be some surprises in there for fans, but overall, I'm just excited." He also said the album is more groove metal-oriented.[17]
Release and promotion
On July 15, 2013 the album was made available for pre-order and the title track, "Hail to the King", was released.[18]The same day, the band revealed a Limited Edition of Hail to the King for pre-order available on their website, much as they did with their previous album, Nightmare. The limited edition set included:
- Limited Edition “Treasure Box”: Antique gold colored embossed foil paper wrapped box featuring exclusive Hail To The King artwork
- Deluxe Hail To The King album on CD: Housed in a digi-pak with a card including a download to an extra bonus track
- Exclusive Canvas Print: 11.75″ x 11.75″ Canvas print of the Album Cover artwork, printed and rolled up to fit inside the treasure box
- Photo Book: 11.5″ x 7.125″ 20-page + cover perfect-bound soft-cover book featuring a sampling of photos of the band through out the years
- Death Bat Challenge Coin: 2″ silver colored metal coin with a design stamped on front & back
- Death Bat Skeleton Key: 4.5″ silver colored metal skeleton key
- Digital Content: Instand download Hail To The King Single. Download of Hail To The King album on street date
- Pre-Sale access to the upcoming Avenged Sevenfold US Tour[19]
Reception
Critical response
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[21] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [3] |
| Allmusic |  [22] |
| Alternative Press | [23] |
| Artistdirect | [24] |
| Exclaim! | 4/10[25] |
| The Guardian | [26] |
| Loudwire | [2] |
| The New Zealand Herald | [27] |
| The Oakland Press | [28] |
| Rolling Stone | [29] |
In a very positive review, Dom Lawson of The Guardian judged, "Stripped down to a core of thudding Sabbath-like grooves and brash, spiky vocal refrains, Avenged now sound every bit as vital and imperious as the bands they aspire to emulate."[26] Though not all critics were as enthusiastic. In a mixed review, Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic remarked, "Unfortunately, once they tried to take inspiration from other bands, they mimicked them so well that they lost their sense of identity in the process."[22]
In a more negative review, Bradley Zorgdrager of Exclaim! said "After it concludes, Hail to the King makes it challenging for listeners to recall any specific moment, which defeats the purpose of a pop (metal) album." The album has received some criticism and was accused of ripping off other artists. For example, the songs "This Means War" and "Shepherd of Fire" have been accused of ripping off "Sad But True" and "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.[22] The album also has been compared to bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica and Pantera.[22][30]
In a blog post, Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn was also very critical of the album, denouncing it as a mere cover album and making several jokes about the similarities a selection of songs share with those by Metallica, Megadeth and Guns N' Roses. [31] [32]
Chart performance
Hail to the King debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on September 1, 2013.[33] It also debuted at number two on the Official Finnish Albums Chart.[34]The album sold 159,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.[35]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates and Johnny Christ.| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shepherd of Fire" | 5:22 | |
| 2. | "Hail to the King" | 5:04 | |
| 3. | "Doing Time" | 3:27 | |
| 4. | "This Means War" | 6:09 | |
| 5. | "Requiem" | 4:23 | |
| 6. | "Crimson Day" | 4:57 | |
| 7. | "Heretic" | 4:55 | |
| 8. | "Coming Home" | 6:26 | |
| 9. | "Planets" | 5:56 | |
| 10. | "Acid Rain" | 6:38 | |
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Total length:
|
53:17 | ||
| Deluxe version bonus tracks[36] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 11. | "Hail to the King" (music video) | 5:13 | ||||||||
| 12. | "St. James" | 5:01 | ||||||||
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Total length:
|
63:31 | |||||||||
Personnel
- Avenged Sevenfold
- M. Shadows – lead vocals
- Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Johnny Christ – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Arin Ilejay – drums
- Session musicians
- Brian Haner, Sr – Outro guitar solo on "Coming Home"
- David Campbell – Orchestra conductor
- John E. Acosta – cello on "Requiem", "Crimson Day" and "Acid Rain"
- John Wittenberg, Josefina Vergara, Michelle Richards, Natalie Leggett, Sara Parkins, Songa Lee, Tereza Stanislav – violin on "Requiem", "Crimson Day" and "Acid Rain"
- John Fumo, Rick Baptist – trumpet on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"
- Jeff Babko – piano on "Acid Rain"
- Alan Kaplan – trombone on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"
- Douglas Tornquist – tuba on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"
- Production
- Mike Elizondo – production, keyboards on "Crimson Day", "Heretic" and "Coming Home"
- Allen Wolfe – A&R
- Joanna Terrasi – A&R
- Brent Arrowood – assistant engineer
- Chris Sporleder – assistant engineer
- D.A. Frizell – illustrations, treatment
- Adam Hawkins – engineer
- Paul Suarez – pro-tools
- Cam Rackman – paintings, portraits
- Andy Wallace – mixer
Charts
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[37] | 2 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[38] | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[39] | 30 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[40] | 23 |
| Brazilian Albums (ABPD)[41] | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[43] | 6 |
| Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[44] | 6 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] | 1 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[45] | 25 |
| German Albums (Media Control)[46] | 5 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[47] | 8 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[48] | 1 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[49] | 8 |
| New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[50] | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[51] | 3 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[52] | 5 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[53] | 4 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[54] | 12 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[33] | 1 |
| US Billboard 200[55] | 1 |
Release history
 |
This section does not cite any references or sources. (August 2013) |
| Region | Date | Label(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia[citation needed] | August 23, 2013 | Warner Bros. Records |
| Finland[56] | ||
| Germany[citation needed] | ||
| Malaysia[citation needed] | ||
| New Zealand[citation needed] | ||
| Netherlands[citation needed] | ||
| United Kingdom[citation needed] | August 26, 2013 | |
| Canada[citation needed] | August 27, 2013 | |
| South Korea[citation needed] | ||
| United States[citation needed] |
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